


5 Times Dale And Kendra Had An Emotional Conversation

by feministkendra



Series: 5 Times Series [1]
Category: Fablehaven Series - Brandon Mull
Genre: Canon Divergence, a bunch of emotional talks, all beautiful, some more fluffy some more angsty some more hurt and comfort, under rated friendship right here
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-23
Updated: 2019-01-23
Packaged: 2019-10-14 23:31:02
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,381
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17517905
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/feministkendra/pseuds/feministkendra
Summary: 5 times Dale and Kendra had an emotional conversation. Part of the 5 Times Series!





	5 Times Dale And Kendra Had An Emotional Conversation

**Author's Note:**

  * For [AerinM](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AerinM/gifts).



> This was written for AerinM! I love you so so so so so so so much and I hope you like this!

1.

Dale Burgess had had a crazy two weeks.

First, the two Sorenson siblings had arrived. Of course, then they had known nothing about magic or even that there were dangerous animals in the woods surrounding them. Dale had bit back an exasperated groan when he heard Stan tell them to stay out of the woods because there were ticks.

What curious eleven year old was going to stay out of the woods because of ticks? Not Seth Sorenson it seemed because he broke the rule on the very first full day he was here. Dale had been exiting the barn to start his chore of bringing milk tins out when he noticed the kid slipping into the trees. He thought about stopping the kid but decided against it, the unbelief and shield over his eyes would be enough of a protection.

Dale sighed. "We have a second Warren on our hands."

The thought of his brother made him pause, he became distracted while putting out the milk tins, which he paid for by being caught red-handed by Kendra. After a brief conversation and a few lies, she promised to keep his fake secret about the milk.

As she turned to go, Dale couldn't help himself. "You seen your brother hereabout?"

"I think he's in the house."

"That so?" he resisted a smile.

Kendra shrugged. "Maybe."

Now, if Dale had to bet, he would bet that she knew just where Seth was. He didn't grow up as the older sibling of a troublemaker without being to recognize someone who was in the same position. Not that he blamed her for covering his back, he was sure she wouldn't have been able to stop her younger brother so why should she take even a little of the blame for simply not ringing the alarm.

Next thing Dale knew, the kids had learned the secret of the magical world. It felt nice not having to lie and hide things anymore, plus Dale now got to have Hugo back doing his full job and that lifted a lot of responsibilities off Dale's shoulder. But before they knew it, it was Midsummer's Eve.

He had been sitting downstairs with Stan and Lena when they heard a commotion coming from the attic, coupled with yelling and the unmistakable sound of creatures snarling. Dale bolted out of his seat, grabbing the shotgun off the table, Stan made to follow him.

"No, stay down here and get ready. I'm gonna have to lead them down here and out of the attic so they can shut the door and be safe!" he called while racing as fast as he could to the attic. He had burst through the door with the shotgun leveled at the first disgusting monster he saw.

He risked a glance to where he saw Seth and Kendra huddled on one of the beds. Seth looked terribly guilty and had tears streaming down his face and Kendra looked utterly terrified. "You kids stay put no matter what!"

He began to lead the creatures out of the attic and down the stairs, not having to fire the shotgun until the hallway. "Shut the door and stay put!"

The next few minutes were a blur of shotgun blasts and revolting monsters coming at him. Eventually, he had joined Stan and Lena in the kitchen who both joined the fight, only for one of the creatures to open the door, leading in more monsters who overpowered them and dragged them outside.

Dale remembers thinking that this was it, this was the end of his life. He saw a bright flash and raised his arms protectively then...nothing.

He had positively no memories until all of a sudden he was surrounded by large fairies helping him to his feet. He looked around and saw Kendra standing there. "What's going on? Where's Stan?"

"The fairies healed you," Kendra had told him. "Grandpa and the others are still in trouble. But I think these fairies will help us."

Dale watched baffled while Kendra basically called the fairies to war, then flew off with them to...man if he knew. He was left to pace and wonder where they would have gone, what had happened, and who was behind all this. He guessed he would get his answer soon, provided they did come back.

Just as he was beginning to get worried, he noticed figures flying towards the yard and felt relief wash over him as he recognized Stan and...wait, was that Ruth? As they got closer he could see that, yes, indeed that was Ruth. He rushed towards them as they were being set down by fairies.

"Now, I've seen everything," he said before giving Ruth a tight hug. She had been turned into a chicken trying to find a cure for Warren, something that he had been very guilty about. He released her smiling wide.

Turning, he saw that Kendra was surrounded by the fairies who were one by one kissing her face and being transformed back into miniature form. Once the fairies were done, Kendra swayed heavily and fell backward on the grass.

He and Stan helped her to her feet. Stan shook his head. "I would wager this young lady has quite the story to tell. And I would also wager that now is not the time. Hugo, attend to your labors."

Dale began to help Kendra into the house. He was painfully curious about what in the hell had transpired here, what had happened to him, how Ruth was back, how did the fairies get so big, how come they were listening to Kendra, and why did kissing Kendra's face bring them back to miniature size?

But, he knew the one person that had all the answers to all of those questions was also the one that was falling asleep by the second. He had his hands on her shoulders, guiding her into the house and to the stairs, but just as they reached them, Kendra's knees gave out.

He caught her easily and started carrying her up to her bed. When Kendra and Seth had first arrived at Fablehaven, while Dale knew they were second cousins, he wasn't sure if he would be seeing much of them after their stay. Even after they discovered the secret he had his doubts.

Now, as he helped Stan tuck Kendra into bed, he was beginning to think otherwise.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Dale looked up as Kendra sat down next to him on the porch swing. "Hey kid, aren't your parents coming soon?"

"Yup, they just called and said they were an hour away. I'm all packed and everything so, I have nothing I need to do."

"Ah, I see. And sitting here with me was the most interesting thing you could think of?" Kendra didn't smile like he thought she would, he peered at her for a moment. "What's up?"

She looked over at him, eyebrows drawn together. "Does this...magical world ever bother you? Like do you ever just feel overwhelmed?"

"Well, sometimes yes. Like this past week? Definitely the most overwhelmed I've been in a while," he admitted, chuckling. "But, usually it's not that crazy, I guess you guys really know how to make an entrance to the magical world, huh?"

"Yeah, that's another thing..."

"What?"

Kendra sighed and gestured to herself. "The whole, I can see without milk thing. Who knows what the fairies did to me and what the repercussions will be? I only just found out about this entire world and now I'm...something."

"I can't say I know much about what the fairies did to you, never even knew they could be called to war, but here you are. I wouldn't worry too much though, be careful with your eyes being opened of course, but don't lose sleep over it," Dale said, to be honest, he had been dumbfounded when he was told she no longer needed milk to see the magical creatures. He had never heard such a thing in all his years.

Kendra was truly proving herself to be a true game-changer in the magical world.

Beside him, she sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "I guess, but I'm not sure I'll be able to handle it if things are like how this last week was all the time. It was so crazy and scary and just...I don't know..."

"I know this world can be anxiety-inducing, especially after what you've seen and been through this past week, but try not to let it get into your head too much. Not saying things like this week won't ever happen again, because in this world you never know, but I will say that if stuff happens we will deal with it the best we can."

"We almost lost this time."

"Good thing we had you then!"

Finally, Kendra smiled. She was quiet for a minute before turning to him one last time. "Are you sure things aren't always this...crazy?"

"I'd love to say that it will never happen again," he started. "But, as I said, you can never know with this world. There are dangerous creatures, dangerous people, things happen."

"Like the Society?"

"I don't think you have to worry about those guys. You're young, you will probably be kept out of that side of the magic world. At least I hope you are, that's a problem you would be happy to be kept away from."

A crash was heard from inside the house and Kendra sighed. "Seems like I need to go see what Seth did this time," she stood and walked to the door before turning back towards him and smiling. "Thanks for talking, Dale. It really helped."

"Of course," Dale grinned. "Anytime you need help with out of control younger brothers, I have some experience there as well."

"I'll have to keep that in mind," she laughed. Another crash was heard and she dropped her head back in exasperation as Dale chuckled. "He never stops. I better get in there, see ya!"

She waved before heading inside. Dale heard her yell Seth's name and then Seth yelling back, then Kendra's laugh was heard and he smiled. It reminded him of Warren and himself. Once again, he thought of what could have been if he had just thought to ask the fairies to heal his brother...but no matter. What's done is done.

He'll find another way. There had to be a way to heal Warren out there somewhere.

Inside, the Sorenson siblings were heard laughing loudly.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2.

Warren was awake.

Warren was awake.

Dale honestly felt like he could walk on air he was so damn happy. Seth had pulled the nail out of the revenant and the action had awoken his brother, at long last. When he was told that part of the story he hadn't been able to resist hugging the little guy.

Seth had complained and told him to not get too sappy but when Dale had pulled away he could see Seth was secretly proud of himself.

Of course, Warren had run into danger the second he was awake. Dale hadn't let Tanu and Coulter talk him out of going into the vault, sure he wasn't a seasoned adventurer but if his brother was in there he was going in to help him.

Then the stupid hobgoblin broke his legs. Sure, Dale had killed him in retaliation with a simple switchblade to the throat, but he still couldn't go on to help Warren, which pissed him off. Tanu and Coulter had promised to bring him back but it didn't ease his worries.

He couldn't even pace around, all he could do was sit there and wait and wait and wait and wait. It had to be about thirty minutes before he heard voices coming up towards the room. He had watched as Tanu lead Vanessa into the room, then Coulter and Kendra came through the door then-

Warren.

He had shouted as his brother grinned and knelt next to him to hug him. Dale would never forget the feeling of that moment. Being able to hug Warren and have him hug back, in total control of his mind and body, was everything to Dale and tears stung his eyes.

Finally, Warren had moved away. Behind him, Kendra moved forward with a strange cat teapot and proceeded to pour sand over his legs. Dale's eyes had widened as he felt his legs heal. He stood and had wiped at his eyes, proclaiming he had now officially seen everything. For real this time.

A day later he had been told that the same teapot had saved Warren's life, thanks to Kendra. Naturally, he had to find the young girl and thank her. It took him a few days to have the time to talk to her, but eventually, he had an easy chore day so around noon he hunted her down.

The search leads him to the attic, where she was sitting in bed reading a book. "Hey, kid."

Kendra looked up from the book and smiled at him. "Hi, Dale."

"You know, I was kinda surprised you didn't fall asleep for three days after you came out of the inverted tower."

Kendra laughed and shook her head. "I was too, to be honest. At that point, I had been awake for days because I had been afraid to fall asleep since you know, Vanessa. So, I certainly had felt tired enough."

"I actually wanted to talk to you about the Inverted Tower," he started and sat down on the edge of her bed. "I heard you had a role in making sure Warren got out of there alive. Heard he had been pretty banged up."

Kendra sobered and closed her book. "Banged up makes it sound like bruises or scrapes, a severe understatement. How much did they tell you?"

"You mean did they tell me he broke all the bones in his body, got stabbed, poisoned, and drowned in acid? Don't worry, I know. I also know you healed all those wounds with the artifact. He would have died if you weren't there, Kendra."

"It was more my fairy magic than myself."

"No, it was also you being brave enough to go through that vault with him so that you made it to that artifact and you were there to charge it. An action that saved his life," he shot down her downplaying. "Besides, even if you throw all that aside, you made sure he wasn't alone. You kept him company at the very least, saved his life at the very most."

Dale looked her in the eyes seriously. "Thank you, Kendra. I said this to your brother, and I'm saying it to you. Seth brought him back, and you made sure he stayed back. You two brought him back to me and I am eternally thankful. I can't express how much it means to me."

"Dale," Kendra's eyes had misted over a little. "Of course. You're welcome, but you don't need to thank me. I'm just glad he came back, you have a lot more light in your eyes now."

He reached over and pulled the small girl into a hug. "I really do owe you one."

"No, no you don't"

Dale squeezed her tight one last time before letting go. "I'll let you get back to your book now, okay? Your grandfather said dinner is in fifteen, just so you know."

Kendra nodded and he turned to walk out the door. Then, he heard Kendra call his name and he turned around again questioningly.

"I don't know the feeling on quite the scale that you do, but for the days I thought Seth was gone, I was miserable. When I saw him alive, it was honestly indescribable. I know it's not the same, but...to some extent, I understand."

With that she turned back to her book, leaving Dale to smile and leave the attic. He thought back to when he had assumed he would never see Kendra and Seth again.

Little did he know: they would give him the best present anyone had ever given him.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3.

Dale has retired the saying 'now I have seen everything'. Because he knows that at some point in his life he will be proven wrong, yet again.

Especially with the Sorenson siblings around.

He has gotten used to the two kids exceeding the limits, proving to him time and time again to not underestimate children. This time, he had been reduced to a cold, shadow person and trapped in the middle of the woods with his family - also shadows - while Kendra and Seth teamed up with Lena and Patton Burgess of all people to stop Kurisock and his wispy witch ghost girlfriend or whatever she was.

They had succeeded...but at a cost. Lena had lost her life in the fight, it had gutted him to hear it. He had lived with her for years, she was almost like an aunt to him. She had helped search for a cure for Warren, she had always brought him bottles of water when he was out doing his chores, she had even helped take care of Warren when he was in the catatonic state.

She was family. Dale had been sad when she had been returned to the pond but at least she was alive. Now, she was truly gone. He tried to comfort himself by reminding himself at least everyone else survived and the preserve wasn't in danger any more thanks to her, but it did little to ease his heavy heart.

But, there were two people especially going through the wringer over Lena's death. Not that they all weren't sad, quite the opposite, but the loss hit two people harder than the others: Patton and Kendra.

It was quite the experience meeting Patton, but it was bittersweet. The man was obviously heartbroken but had put on a brave face to meet them all before retiring to a guest room to cry. Dale only knew this because Patton had flat out told them he what he was going to do.

Dale knew the man would be okay, he would go back to his own time and have Lena back, Kendra however...she has lost Lena for good. To top it all off, she had been the one to toss Lena the pebble and now she was raking herself over the coals, blaming herself for Lena's death.

They had been taking turns trying to cheer her up, Tanu had returned a few hours ago with a shake of his head. He was the fifth person to try and Dale decided to go next so up to the attic he went.

Pushing the door open, he finds Kendra laying on the floor staring up at the ceiling. Oh, no. This has gone too far and ends now. "Okay, get up. Let's go."

Kendra slowly lifted her head, stared at him for a few seconds then dropped her head to the ground. Dale sighed and walked over to her, nudging her hip with his foot.

"Come on. Get off the floor, kid. I won't tell you again," he was using the voice he used to use when Warren wasn't listening. He had never imagined he would use it again, let alone on Kendra. To his surprise, Kendra didn't react, didn't listen.

The obedient kid. Not listening.

"Alright then, I warned you," he shrugged before bending over and hauling Kendra up off the floor and over his shoulder. He started carrying her out of the room and down the stairs.

"Put me down."

Dale would be lying if Kendra's flat words in response to this didn't worry him. This wasn't like her. "No, you need fresh air, sunshine and all that."

"I don't want to go outside, put me down," she said again in the same emotionless tone. Dale reached the ground floor and headed towards the door leading to the garden.

"This isn't an option, you are going outside. I don't care if you don't want to."

With that, he pushed open the back door and deposited Kendra on the porch swing. "There, I was outside, can I go back in now?"

"No."

Kendra huffed and leaned back on the swing. Dale took a seat next to her and just as he was about to talk Kendra interrupted him.

"I know what you are going to say, it wasn't your fault, Lena wouldn't want you to blame yourself, cheer up, and all that. Spare me the speech because it isn't going to change the fact that I threw the stone to her which she then used and died. I was the butterfly that caused the hurricane and nothing can change that."

Her emotionless tone had melted as her rant went on, leaving behind a voice filled with hurt and guilt and it hurt Dale to hear that tone in such a young kid.

"Kendra, you threw the stone but that doesn't mean you killed her. The butterfly flapping its wings so they can fly may have started the catalyst for the hurricane but they are not at fault," he reasoned. Kendra didn't answer, only stared out at the garden where fairies were fluttering about.

"Look. I'm not here to give you a big cheer up speech. I'm here to tell you to at least try and live. Get out of bed, eat something, do some kind of activity besides laying on the floor staring at the ceiling. That isn't healthy, so if anything, try to be healthy."

Kendra sighed and looked at him with tears in her eyes. "I am trying."

"No, Kendra. You know you aren't," Dale said softly, she slumped back against the swing and closed her eyes. "Giving up isn't an option, okay? Laying on the floor isn't trying, not eating isn't trying, turning your family away isn't trying. You have to make an effort no matter how hard it is."

"I know," Kendra whispered. "I know, okay. I already know that I'm failing so I don't need to be scolded about how much of a disappointment I am."

Dale sighed softly. "Kendra, you are not a disappointment. I'm sorry, I'm not trying to scold you I promise, my intention here was to try to get through to you. Not to punish you, but to make you understand where we are coming from and why we are concerned."

"...I miss Lena."

"I do too, Kens. I do too," Dale leaned his head back on the swing with her. "I bet she would have known what to say to you."

"If she was here then we wouldn't be having the conversation."

"True, but still. She would know what to say."

Kendra was silent for a few moments as Dale rocked the swing lightly with his feet out of habit. "She used to tell me all these amazing stories of her adventures, and she had this thing with the rain."

Dale chuckled. "I remember how she used to sit out in the rain, I once caught her out here during a thunderstorm. She loved it."

Silence fell over them again as he got lost in his memories and he suspected Kendra did too. Eventually, he heard Kendra whisper something. "What was that?"

"I said, I'll try. But that doesn't change what I did. The doesn't change that I am still the butterfly that caused the hurricane and I am indirectly at fault," she said again a tad louder. Dale compressed his lips, he wanted to argue but decided against it.

"Well, it's a start."

Suddenly, it started raining and a yellow butterfly alighted on the porch railing.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

4.

It had been a hard week for everyone.

Kendra had (supposedly) died. Most of the house had gone to her funeral, they had mourned her and tried to piece together what in the hell had happened and why. In the end, it turned out it was a stingbulb of all things and she was actually kidnapped.

So, a murder case turned into an abduction case. Dale had waited anxiously for news about the rescue attempt that was happening. Well, it was less of a rescue attempt and more of a search party. He tried to occupy his mind by doing his chores even though Stan had told him he didn't have to, but it wasn't helping much.

Eventually, he gave up and went inside. He might as well be anxious with everyone else. He found Stan, Ruth and even Seth in the study. Night was just falling and according to the tip Vanessa gave, they had a long wait before the search party even started.

"Dale," Stan greeted giving him a smile that fell flat. "Finally decided to join us, have you?"

Dale threw himself into the remaining chair with a sigh. "Yeah, figured misery loves company."

"It's gonna be a long night, I should go make something for us to eat," Stan said, standing and exiting the room. Dale glanced at Seth, the kid's knees were bouncing up and down, his knuckles were white from gripping the arms of the chair, and he looked ready to pass out from nerves.

"Hey, Seth, try and calm down man. Letting yourself get all worked up isn't going to help, take a breath," he spoke in a soft voice, trying to ease the young boy's mind but Seth just bolted up and began pacing.

"Aren't you nervous? Is it just me? My heart feels like it's gonna burst right out of my chest and my stomach is an Olympic gymnast apparently from all the flips it's doing and I keep thinking of what's gonna happen. I mean, what's gonna happen? Will they rescue her? Will she even be where Vanessa said? I mean how much can we trust Vanessa anyway? What if-"

"Seth! My goodness, breathe!" Tanu walked into the room and placed his large hands on Seth's shoulders gently, stopping the boy's pacing. "The search party isn't even out yet and you are a nervous wreck!"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry...I just-" Seth cut off, eyes teary. Tanu sighed and drew him into a hug.

"Don't be sorry, my boy. It's only natural," Coulter waved a hand as he dragged a chair into the room. The old man sat down and folded his arms. "Feelings area bi-"

"Coulter," Ruth warned, speaking up for the first time.

"-scuit." Dale laughed at Coulter's improvisation and Tanu lead Seth back to his seat. Tanu left and then came back this time holding his own chair and a pack of cards.

Tanu set the chair next to Dale and sat down. "You know, my father used to say a pack of cards holds more games in it than a cupboard full of board games. So, here's a pack of cards, Stan is getting food, I say we play some old-fashioned card games to pass the time, huh?"

"No thanks, I feel wrong about playing games while Kendra could be….who knows," Seth murmured.

"Kendra would rather you play a few card games than sit there and drive yourself to a panic attack," Ruth reasoned with her grandson, her eyes studying Seth softly.

"Come on, kid. A game of cards won't hurt," Dale helped with the convincing. Seth looked up from his lap and sighed.

"Okay, I guess."

They waited in near silence, only small conversations that fell flat breaking it until Stan came back with a tray of food and snacks and drinks. "I didn't know what to make so I just grabbed...everything."

Dale resisted a smile at Stan's nervousness. They all grabbed something off the tray and soon a game of War was in play. The group wasted time playing anything from go fish, to rummy, to blackjack, and crazy eights.

They even had a tournament for the game bullshit - although Ruth insisted they call it bullcrap instead - and that had left the room rowdy with everyone watching each round with anticipation. Dale had eventually won, going up against Stan in the final round.

As they wrapped up the tournament, Dale glanced at the clock and felt his heart squeeze. It was 12:32. Vanessa had told the search party to be on the streets for midnight. The search party had started.

With a quick look around the room, he saw everyone looking at the clock as well. Stan sighed and sat down in his chair again. "Well, I guess now we wait."

Everyone sank down in their seats, silent. The next three hours the group sat there in total, anxious silence. They seemed to jump at the slightest sound, hoping it would be the telephone but it never was...until at 3:04 in the morning Stan's phone lit up.

Dale watched as Stan rushed to answer it. "Hello? Warren?"

Even though the phone wasn't on speaker, it was so silent in the room that everyone could hear the answer that came from the phone.

"Grandpa!"

Dale sucked in a huge breath, as did many of the others, they all could recognize Kendra's voice anywhere. Stan froze then started talking hurriedly. "Kendra! My dear lord, are you alright?"

They all heard an 'I'm okay' come from the phone. After hearing her voice the room descended into chaos.

"Are they in a safe place, who knows the Society could be looking for her."

"Where was she?"

"Stan, ask her if she's hurt!"

"Let me talk to her!"

Their voices overlapped as they frantically tried to get answers. Stan only humored one, Seth. He handed the phone to the boy who took it with shaking hands. "Kenny?! Is this you?!"

They all heard Kendra reply, asking if the stingbulb hurt Seth or anything. Seth answered her and a minute later Ruth took the phone. "Oh, Kendra dear we are so glad you are okay. Coulter, Dale, and Tanu send their love as well."

Dale smiled and sat forward in his seat as Ruth placed the phone on speaker so they all could speak to Kendra. Dale waited as Coulter warned Kendra to be on her guard unto Warren's voice cut in saying that Kendra was already shaken up and to not scare her more.

Tanu asked about her wellbeing and if she was hurt, thankfully she wasn't and she was holding up. Tanu talked to her for a few more minutes, the potions master was just a big softie who had just wanted to make sure she was truly alright, acting almost like a therapist.

Then, the phone was passed to him. He accepted it gingerly and took a deep breath before talking. "Hey there, Kens."

"Hi, Dale."

"You sure know how to give a guy a scare, huh?" he chuckled.

"Funny, Warren said the same thing," she said. He could hear how exhausted the poor girl was, it was late and she had just escaped from wherever her kidnappers had been holding her.

"Hey, Warren?" Dale said. When he got a 'yeah' in return from his brother he spoke up again. "You good?"

Kendra's fake death had hit Warren hard and Dale had no idea how the reunion would affect Warren. "I'm great, don't worry."

Dale was satisfied with his answer for now and glanced at Ruth who looked anxious to talk to her granddaughter. "I'm glad you're back, Kendra. I'm gonna hand the phone off to your grandmother before she rips my hand in half to get to it."

He got a light swat on the head for that as Kendra said a small 'bye Dale'. "Bye K."

With that, he handed the phone off. After a few more minutes of talking to her, Ruth ended it by reminded everyone that Kendra was probably exhausted and the phone call ended shortly. No one really slept that night, knowing that tomorrow Kendra would be back home.

Warren and Kendra would sleep a bit at the hotel before starting the thirteen-hour drive back to Fablehaven in the very early morning. Warren said that he plans to be there around 6 pm but to give them leeway for rest stops and food runs.

That day, the hours seem to tick by so slowly that Dale wanted to punch the clock. As 6 pm rolled around, Dale sat in the kitchen, listening for the telltale sign of a car on the gravel. The minutes ticked on and on and with every new minute, he grew more anxious. Tanu and Coulter had joined him at one point.

They listened to Seth playing football with the satyrs, Ruth and Stan were waiting out on the porch so they could open the gate for Warren and Kendra.

"So, the weather is nice," Tanu joked as the tension in the room grew thicker. Just after he spoke, they heard a car pulling up. The three men looked at each other before bolting in a very kid-like fashion to the window.

Dale watched as Warren's car pulled through the gate and into the driveway. It parked and Warren got out of the driver's side and stretched. As he did that, the passenger door opened Kendra popped out of it.

There was a beat, then the men booked it to the hallway to meet the two as they were coming in. Dale stood there with them, a moment later Stan joined them. Then, the knob turned and Warren opened the door and Kendra stepped through.

She had barely crossed the threshold when Seth came barreling down the hallway and enveloped her in a big hug.

"Woah," Kendra said. Dale turned to his brother while he gave the two siblings time to talk.

"How was the drive?"

Warren groaned. "Don't even want to think about it."

Dale laughed at his brother's misery.

"Hi Coulter," he heard Kendra say and he turned back to her to see Coulter hug her. Dale shot Warren a look, Coulter didn't give much affection out usually, but then again, Kendra had just risen from the dead.

He waited as Kendra hugged her grandparents and Tanu before finally stepping up and giving her a big hug as well. The fact that she was here and okay finally became a solid reality to him instead of feeling like a dream. "Welcome home kiddo."

"It's good to be back," she whispered.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Later that day, he found Kendra sitting on the same swing they had sat on last summer. He made his way outside, zipping up his coat. "Aren't you cold, kid?"

Kendra looked up at the sound of his voice and smiled. "Nah, it's not too bad."

He sat down next to her and looked out at the snow falling through the air. "Now I see why you're out here, that sure is a beautiful sight."

"Yeah," she sighed. "If it was a tad warmer it would be rain, you know?"

"I think we can count this as rain, don't you?"

"I bet Lena would."

Dale smiled. "I'm really glad you're okay, Kens. It was a hard week thinking you were dead, for all of us. Seeing you alive and okay...it's an early Christmas present."

"I'm sorry you all went through that Dale," Kendra said quietly. "To be honest, it's good to hear you say that. When I was there, Torina really got under my skin. She made me start to doubt…"

Kendra trailed off, seeming nervous. Dale angled his body towards her and regarded her questioningly. "Doubt what?" When Kendra didn't answer he tried again. "Kendra, you can tell me."

"Please don't take this the wrong way," she pleaded softly. When Dale nodded in agreement she continued. "She made me doubt whether you guys would...would miss me or not."

"Kendra Marie, of course, we would miss you, what in the world?"

"I know, it's stupid to think but...she just kept saying these awful things and the despair of thinking there was no escape coupled with the anxiety of being kidnapped got to me," Kendra explained quickly.

Dale was still heartbroken she would ever think that because it had to come from a place that already existed. He could picture small Kendra alone surrounded by cruel people believing that no one was looking for her, that no one missed her and it hurt him physically.

"You've had your doubts before haven't you?"

Kendra looked up at him. "What?"

"You've had your doubts about if we would miss you before, haven't you?"

"...I mean...I never truly believed them…"

So Dale was right, she had these thoughts before and Torina had fanned the flame. "I hope you know for sure that we would miss you more than we can express. Or do I need to go into detail about how everyone was affected?"

"No, you don't need-"

"Too late! Let's start with Seth, who barely spoke full sentences, he couldn't even play with the satyrs he was so upset, and the day we were waiting for news about your rescue he god damn had a near breakdown."

"Dale-"

"Your grandparents? Threw themselves into your murder case, I had to remind Stan to eat, to force Ruth to sleep and put down your case file, the felt guilty for introducing you to this world of magic and when they finally got the news you were okay they were the only ones who slept that night from sheer relief and exhaustion."

"I get-"

"Tanu and Coulter both did their best to keep Seth's head above water and continue mentoring him through their grief. Tanu's eyes would tear up at the very mention of you and if the murder case was brought up Coulter would get so angry he would have to take a walk. After you were found they stayed up all night downstairs talking, I could hear them from the second floor, they were laughing for the first time since your death."

"I under-"

"Warren? God, I can't even begin to tell you how your death affected him. He stayed behind in Rochester to help Trask solve your murder. When I would call him he always sounded either a word away from a breakdown or ready to kill someone. He didn't sleep, he would disappear for hours and go on long drives, he barely ate. Trask reported this all to me hoping I could give him a call and get him to snap out of it, but that night, we figured out you were alive. He snapped out of it and drove eleven hours o four hours of sleep to be a part of the search party."

"Dale...please."

Dale wasn't quite done. "And me? I didn't know what to do with myself. My family was falling apart at the seams and I couldn't fix it because I was breaking apart with them. Hearing news of your death shook me, K. Listen, am I good at emotional stuff? Hell no. But am I going to sit here and lie and act like I wasn't devastated by your passing? Hell no. Kendra, you are family. You saved my ass quite a few times and my brothers. You are a bright addition to this jumbled mess of a family and we never want to lose you again."

"I'm sorry," Kendra whispered.

"Kendra, that speech wasn't a scolding. It was a reminder that you are loved more than you know. You always have a place here okay?" Dale gave her a smile which she returned.

"When did you get so good at emotional talks, huh?" she teased him.

Dale rolled his eyes. "Please, that wasn't too emotional. I've also been taking notes from watching Warren."

Kendra laughed and he joined in. They stayed outside watching the snowfall until Ruth called them in for supper. He watched as Kendra sat down at her usual seat, filling a seat that had been left painfully empty the past week.

His family was whole again.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

5.

It was a dark day.

Dale sighed and ran his hand through his hair. He closed the barn door and locked it as the sun began to set. The past month and a half has been hard, the team that had left to go to Wyrmroost came home with three missing members.

One dead.

One dead and a traitor.

One stuck in an extra dimensional space.

Of course, that last one happened to be Warren, of course. He always had a knack of getting himself into trouble and now was at risk of being trapped there until his food supply runs out and he starves to death...which did not make it easy for Dale to sleep at night.

Dale opened the door to the house and took his work boots off in the entryway. It was a relief to be done with the chores but now that he had nothing to do, his mind was filled with 'what if' scenarios and worries.

Throwing himself into one of the seats at the kitchen table he sighed and put his head in his hands. What was he going to do with Warren?

"Oh, hey Dale," came a quiet voice. He lifted his head and saw Kendra in the doorway, she was standing there as if she wasn't sure to come in or not.

"Hi, Kendra, what's up? Haven't seen you around today," he greeted and watched as she hesitantly stepped into the kitchen and over to the fridge. Now that he thought about it, he hasn't seen Kendra around very much all month.

There had been meals and meetings but other than that, the fairykind girl was a ghost. Not even coming downstairs for meals at times.

Kendra took a water bottle from the fridge and shrugged. "Uh, I've been around, you must have been working outside."

"Uh huh, how about the past few days, week or even month? Was I just working then?"

Kendra caught Dale's eye and he raised an eyebrow at her. She looked like a deer in headlights for a second before she schooled her expression and looked away. "I don't know, maybe we just keep missing each other."

"Like you keep missing dinner?" Dale noticed how she tried to shrug it off, taking a sip of water to avoid answering. "Kens, come on. It's me, you really think I'm not going to notice when you are avoiding me?"

"I…" Kendra seemed to deflate arms dropping to her sides and head bowing. Finally, she lifted her head, eyes directed at the ceiling as she blinked repeatedly. "It's not...I'm not...I...I'm...I'm sorry."

Her voice had dropped to a whisper by the end of the sentence and Dale had to strain to hear it, she sounded so sad that he was suddenly reminded the toll the disastrous Wrymroost mission must have had on her.

He sighed and patted the table, "Come here, K."

For a moment, he wasn't sure if she would listen, but she did, shuffling over to sit across from him at the table. He waited to see if she would say anything but Kendra remained silent so he took it as s sign to continue the conversation himself.

"Are you mad at me?"

Kendra's eyes shot up to meet his. "No! Not at all! That's not it."

"Then what is it?"

"I...I thought maybe you would be mad at me."

Dale was stunned into silence for a moment. "Wait, what? Why would you ever think that?"

"Cause I got Warren trapped in the extradimensional space…" she mumbled, eyes dropping to the table again. Dale was at a loss for words.

He took a moment to collect his thoughts, his initial reaction was to shake her until her brain righted itself from it's obviously upside down position, but he figured that wouldn't help her. So, he thought of a new way.

"Okay, first of all," he started and pointed a finger at her. "You did not get Warren trapped in the knapsack, that dumb evil dragon boy wonder did. Warren's predicament at the moment is in no way shape or form your fault. Understand that first."

"But, it was my job to protect the knapsack and him! I handed the knapsack over to Gavin because he said he would kill Warren if I didn't but the first thing he did was hurt him and knock him out!"

Kendra was obviously getting more and more upset as she ranted on, her eyes sparkling with unshed tears. Dale let her go on, she needed to get this out. "Then he lit the knapsack on fire and held me back while I watched! I tried to get to him, Dale, I did, I swear! He...he was too strong and I couldn't...I couldn't…"

The tears finally spilled over and she dropped her head into her hands. Dale's heart felt like it was being squeezed. She hadn't told them the details of what happened between her and Gavin, just that he burned the knapsack and he was eaten by a fair dragon named Raxtus.

Hearing her point of view of what had gone down, was ten times worse. Dale couldn't imagine how he would feel having to watch the knapsack Warren was in go up in flames, it was bad enough hearing it happened.

Dale got up from his seat and walked around the table to kneel in front of Kendra's chair. "Hey, kid...come on, it's okay."

"It's not okay," she sniffed, voice strained. "I...I thought he died, Dale. In that moment, I thought I was watching Warren die. I…"

"I can't imagine it was easy, I know. But he's okay for now. There's a chance," he said, reaching up and rubbing her back in hopes to soothe her. "We have hope, Kendra. We have hope."

Kendra lifted her head, tears still streaming down her cheeks. "I'm sorry, I know I shouldn't have avoided you...I was just worried you didn't want to see me since I was the one who was with Warren when it happened. I figured I'd make it easier for you by staying away."

"Oh, Kendra. That's not what I thought even for a second. Don't ever think I would blame you, okay? If anything I was worried about what that experience would do to you. It was an awful thing to go through."

He wasn't lying, he was truly incredibly worried about her. The adults of the house had many conversations about what they should do in terms of helping her cope, but Kendra had been so withdrawn that they didn't think she would even talk about it.

Dale stood up and inclined his head, "Come on, let's go sit on the couch, it's a lot more comfortable."

Kendra followed him to where he plopped onto the old couch in the living room, they sat in silence for a moment before Dale spoke again.

"You know, Warren would be so much better at this conversation than I am. He would know exactly what to say, what to do. Probably say he speaks Kendra or something like that."

"That's exactly what he would say," she laughed as she wiped tears from her eyes.

Dale put an arm around her shoulders and drew her close. "We'll get him back and you can have your protector slash mother back, for now, you have your farmer slash awkward cousin."

Kendra laughed even harder at that, her giggles making Dale smile. "Protector slash mother, oh man I'll have to tell him that one."

"I'll be sure to remind you," he teased, happy she was brightening. "He got all the good emotional talking and comforting talent genes, all I got were common sense and awkwardness. I should demand a refund from my parents."

She leaned her head on his shoulder. "I think you're doing pretty well, considering you already got me laughing when I was sobbing just minutes ago."

"That's just because I'm hilarious."

"Oh, I bet."

"You'd win that bet."

"I bet."

Dale snorted and Kendra laughed along with him. He was glad that the conversation had taken a more light-hearted turn. He had planned to dig deeper into the whole Gavin fiasco but once Kendra started smiling again, he found he couldn't make himself bring her back to a sad topic.

Well, for another day then.

For now, he leaned his head on top of hers and held out his hand which she gladly took. The two just sat there, sometimes talking a little, mostly not.

A few hours later, Ruth found them still on the couch, Dale half laying down with his feet up on the sofa, Kenra laying across the couch with her head in Dale's lap. Music was playing softly from Dale's phone and Kendra was pretty much asleep.

"Dinner's ready, if she wants to come," Ruth stage whispered, a glance down showed Kendra made no sign that she had heard her grandmother.

Dale looked back at Ruth, "I'll wake her in a few minutes, I'm sure she'll want to join."

Ruth raised her eyebrows but then simply nodded and left. Dale leaned his head back against the couch, enjoying the last few minutes of rest. Even though they had really only sat there in almost near silence for hours, Dale appreciated the time with Kendra.

He woke her up a few minutes later as promised and they filed into the kitchen to join the rest of the family for dinner. Even though one of the chairs remained glaringly empty, Dale enjoyed this meal better than he had in a while. Kendra was smiling and joking with the others again, even if it was still a little subdued.

Catching his eye, she gave him a grin which he easily returned.

She was family, the past month where she had been withdrawn had been hard. Especially when Warren had been absent as well. It had felt like two pieces of the puzzle were missing and it left a bigger hole in his heart.

Now, even with one piece still out there somewhere, he had the other piece back, leaving his heart a little more whole. Sure his family wasn't completely whole, but they had patched up one piece and he was sure the other would follow soon.

That was something that helped brighten up this dark day.

**Author's Note:**

> A little symbolism with the yellow butterfly! A yellow butterfly is seen to symbolize hope and guidance and in Irish lore, it is seen as a sign of a departed loved on resting in peace. I thought it would be a beautiful little hidden gem! I hope you all enjoyed this! Thanks for reading!!


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